Science Bowl team finds
challenge at state contest
By Noah Perales-Estoesta

n.perales-estoesta@trojantimes.org

Multiple valedictorian
policy devalues title

Editorial | 9

MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL

Four students from MHS
competed and placed 12th in
the 16th annual Hawaii Science Bowl on Saturday, Jan.
31 at Honolulu Community
College (HCC), winning $50
for the Science Department.
Twenty-four teams from

high schools around the
state participated in the
“Jeopardy”-like measure
of students’ knowledge in
multiple areas of science.
Advised by Science Teacher Namthip Sitachitta and
comprising Junior Cyrus
Takahashi and Seniors
Continued on page 2

VOL. XXXVI NO.5

Kalani Koa pulls through
islandwide competition
By Angelica Sewake

a.sewake@trojantimes.org

High school bands
showcase their musical talents in this season’s Brown
Bags to Stardom (BBTS)
2008-2009 islandwide competition. The contest features various local bands
who earned the privilege

to compete in this event. The
school recognizes four of its
students who have made it
to the next level in challenging other skilled bands. Seniors Hideki Aoki, Kaohu
Detwiler, Kupono Detwiler
and Kainoa Rallita are members of the band known as
Continued on page 4

Presidential Inauguration

Four MHS students get historic opportunity

See who wants to be
your Valentine

Features | 10
Stolen laptops
replaced by new
MacBooks

Kelly Steinfelt, 10

Kelsi Watanabe, 9

Presidential Youth
Inaugural Conference (PYIC)

Washington Workshops

News | 6

Lia Nakao, 12

Campaign Volunteer

David Nakao, 9

Campaign Volunteer

Despite surgery
swimmer discovers
success

Sports | 18

Students’ Japanese New Year
cards place in state contest

News | 3

GO

O
NLINE
www.trojantimes.org

Photo courtesy of Kelsi Watanabe

By Noah Perales-Estoesta

n.perales-estoesta@trojantimes.org

Freshmen David Nakao and
Kelsi Watanabe, Sophomore Kelly
Stinefelt and Senior Lia Nakao were
all live witnesses to an event of unprecedented historic significance.
They were four of an estimated 1.4
million people who attended Barack
Obama’s presidential inauguration
on Jan. 20.
The inauguration, which took
place on the 200th anniversary of
President Abraham Lincoln’s birth,
was preceded by three days of preinauguration events, including a reenactment of Lincoln’s pre-inauguration train ride, a national day of
service projects urged by President
Obama in honor of Martin Luther

Features | 12

King, Jr. and two concerts entitled “We
Are One” and “Kids’ Inaugural: We
are the Future.”
Stinefelt traveled to D.C. with the
Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference (PYIC), which comprised over
7,000 students from around the country. Her inauguration experience began on Jan. 18 at the Lincoln Memorial with the “We Are One” concert,
the musical acts of which included Beyonce, John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi and
Shakira. “It was pretty crowded there
and there (were) a lot of people. Even
at the opening ceremony, it was hard
to get a good view,” she said.
Watanabe attended the inauguration with the Washington Workshops
study group. She received an invitation
from the group having traveled to D.
C. with them the previous school year.

vs.

Of her pre-inaugural experience,
Watanabe said, “I had the option of
going to (a) concert, but I chose to
go to the museums instead.”
D. and L. Nakao, whose family had campaigned for President
Obama prior to his victory in the
November election, traveled to D.C.
with their parents and older brother.
The siblings attended the “We are
the Future” concert at the Verizon
center on Jan. 19, which was hosted
by First Lady Michelle Obama and
Vice President Joe Biden and featured musical acts such as Miley
Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Demi
Lovato. “There was a lot of energy;
everybody seemed really excited to
be there,” said L. Nakao.
Continued on page 6

Fun without a plug
What to do during the next power outage

Features | 11

CHOSEN TROJANS

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Science Bowl (continued from page 1)

for the past three
months. We meet
... two times a
week and ... durthe break.”
MHS Science Bowl Team Scoreboard ing
Each match
consisted of two
Mililani vs. Kealakehe Mililani vs. Pearl City
eight-minute
rounds, in which
114
110
82
56
teams
were
asked questions
Mililani vs. Aiea
Mililani vs. Waiakea
from one of the
eight categories.
128
40
74
96
“There are two
types of quesMililani vs. Punahou
Mililani vs. Iolani (2)
tions; toss up
questions and bo40
112
30
114
nus questions,”
Angelica Sewake | Trojan Times
explained Mocz,
Wins
Losses
(Left to right) Seniors Kent Yamada and Ben Tanimoto,
who served as
Science Teacher Namthip Sitachitta and Junior Cyrus
team captain. “If
3
3
Takahashi. Not shown: Senior Lucia Mocz.
someone in our
team (answered)
Lucia Mocz, Ben Tanimoto earth science ... and math,” entered this year. “It seemed a toss up question correctly,
and Kent Yamada, the team’s she said. The Hawaii Science like a good year to suggest our team (was) eligible for
participation in last month’s Bowl is branched off from it (and) Sitachitta is a really the follow up bonus question
event marked the first time the National Science bowl, great teacher; she goes the … We (could) collaborate
MHS was involved in the first launched in 1991 and extra mile for her students amongst our team on bonus
competition.
sponsored by the U.S. De- and took on a lot of respon- questions, but (as team cap “(Science Bowl is) a tour- partment of Energy.
sibility putting together our tain, I’d) have to verbally tell
nament (that measures) how Sitachitta was informed first team,” said Tanimoto.
the judges that answer.” Toss
much students know about of the competition by Tan- “I just thought that our up questions were worth
science,” explained Sitachit- imoto, one of her students students are pretty good and four points and bonus questa. “It covers (seven) areas … whose father, an HCC em- (that) I just wanted to give it tions worth ten.
chemistry, biology, physics, ployee, encouraged Tanimoto a shot,” explained Sitachitta. Each competing team
astronomy, general science, to see to it that an MHS team “We have been preparing was grouped into one of four

divisions for the first five
matches. The top three teams
from each division were allowed to compete in the top
12. MHS placed third in its division, defeating Kealakehe,
Aiea and Pearl City, but losing to Waiakea and eventual
first-place winner Punahou.
The team then competed in
two rounds to determine
places nine through twelve.
After losing to Iolani in the
first round, MHS was set to
compete for 11th place with
Sacred Hearts, but was forced
to forfeit and accept 12th due
to scheduling conflicts that
disenabled a team member
from competiting.
Despite the forfeit, Sitachitta remained proud of
her team. “This (was) our first
time. We didn’t know what
to expect and then it was
great that we got the award
... Next year, definitely, I will
start early ... I know what to
expect and I will definitely
have two teams ready,” she
said.
If MHS’s performance in
its first year in the competition is any indication, next
year’s teams are sure to find
even greater success.

Mocz named as regional finalist in Siemens Competition
By Kelli-Anne Ho

Kelli-Anne Ho | Trojan Times

k.ho@trojantimes.org

As the single competitor
from Hawaii, Senior Lucia
Mocz has yet another attainment to add to her long list of
achievements, this time having placed as a Regional Finalist in the Siemens Competition
in Math, Science and Technology. The competition was held
at Caltech back in December
and Siemens provided Mocz a
free trip to compete.
Mocz, who recently entered her project on Quantum
Exit Probability in the Pacific
Science Symposium, also en-

tered it into the Siemens Competition.
“The goal of my project
was to develop new algorithms and methods to give
robot scientists and researchers a fast and economic way
to correct aerial, terrestrial and
underwater images for autonomous robot navigation and
other scientific applications,”
explained Mocz.
Siemens judges its competitors in three different aspects, the first being a presentation. “I presented a power
point of my project (and) said
a twelve minute speech,” said
Mocz. “Twelve minutes is

actually a really, really short
time, so I had to cut down ... to
fit in that time frame (and) ... I
had to make my presentation
entertaining for the general
public and educational for the
researcher judges.”
For the second portion of
the competition, the judges
bring the competitor into a
private room for a question
and answer session. “They
can ask almost anything there.
Usually they really grill you
on your method asking ‘why’
more than ‘how.’ You have
to have knowledge of everything related to that field …”
explained Mocz.

The third segment is how
the competitor interacts with
the public and the media. “…
We are scored on our interview
techniques and our interaction
with the general public during
the poster session where anyone can come by and ask us to
explain our projects to them,”
said Mocz.
From placing as a Regional Finalist, Mocz was awarded
with a $1000 scholarship and
has shown that hard work
along with the perseverance to
succeed has paid off and those
qualities are sure to be worthy
assets in her future.

Shakespeare expressed, revisited through school monologue presentation
By Faith Brown

f.brown@trojantimes.org

On Jan. 22 the three winners of the fifth annual Shakespeare Competition at MHS
were announced. Out of the
handful of people who competed, the first, second and
third place winners were, respectively, Seniors Joel Libed
and David Teraoka and Junior Shelby Benson.
For the contest, the participants prepared a memorized
Shakespearean monologue of
20 lines or less and performed
in front of a panel of judges.
The judges were given spe-

cific areas to critique. English
Teacher Jamie Rolfsmeyer,
who organized the event,
stated, “Some of the things we
tell them to look for is understanding so that you can tell
the kid knows what they’re
saying, how well they express
and communicate that understanding, and how well they
are understood.”
Those who placed acted
out a range of pieces. Libed
performed the scene of Romeo’s death and his proclamation of love to Juliet. Teraoka acted a love poem from the
“Twelfth Night.” Benson performed a contrasting piece,

embodying the character of
Portia Brutus’ wife from “Julius Caesar.”
English Teacher LisaAnne Tsuruda, a judge, commented on the performances,
“I like seeing high school kids
tackle Shakespeare’s works
and how they internalize it
and they make it their own …
The three of them really understood the characters and
they became the characters.”
Libed stated, “I am actually really happy because I really want to go to states and
then nationals. I think with
hard work and dedication I
could do that ... that is like my

goal right now.” To prepare
for the state level Libed must
memorize a sonnet. He chose
to perform Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare, which he
had previously memorized as
an assignment in Tsuruda’s
class.
The state competition will
be held on March 7 from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. at Manoa Valley Theater and is free and
open to the public.
The winner of states will
travel to the national competition in New York. The winner from there will be awarded the opportunity to study
abroad in England, where

they will have the chance to
work with Shakespearean actors. This ultimate prize is the
driving motivation for many
participants.
“The winner is usually
the one who is very flamboyant ... and is comical or very
dramatic. That is why the real
introspective kind of characters cannot win,” commented Tsuruda on the expected
character of state winners.
With Libed’s natural ease at
performing his monologue he
has a sure chance at obtaining
his goal and competing in the
national competition.

CHOSEN TROJANS

3

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Winning nengajoo honor Year of the Ox
By Caitlin Kuroda

c.kuroda@trojantimes.org

Once again, MHS has
proven itself in terms of artistic talent, as the nengajoo
(Japanese New Year cards) of
three students – Sophomore

William Gaul and Seniors
Darian Oshiro and Jasmine
Pang – placed in the annual
statewide contest put on by
the Hawaii Herald. Pang and
Gaul placed first and second,
respectively in the “Most Artistic” category, and Oshiro’s

William Gaul, 10
Second place - Most Artistic

Darian Oshiro, 12
Third place - Most Original

nengajoo was chosen as third
place for “Most Original.”
Each year students taking Japanese are required to
complete a card that contains
a traditional greeting and a
drawing that relates to the
New Year’s animal – this

year being the Ox – and Japanese New Year customs. “For
the Japanese New Year, it’s
the most important celebration for them,” said World
Languages Teacher JoAnn
Kanda. “They send out New
Year’s cards, and billions are
sent out every
year, so … as part
of the culture
“We don’t really celebrate Japanese standard, we try
culture at our house ... So (doing the to do this.”
nengajoo) makes me more familiar Kanda and
other
Japanese
with the culture through research.”
teachers choose
-Jasmine Pang, 12 nengajoo that are
exceptionally artistic and fit well
into one of the
three categories
(“Most Artistic,”
“Most
Humorous” and “Most
Original”)
and
then enter them.
Pang,
who
has had her several nengajoo place
ever since she was
a freshman, drew
an ox pounding
mochi with a sacred tool that is
said to bring good
luck. “I was doing
some research on
the traits of people born in the Ox
year and the tradiJasmine Pang, 12
tions of Japanese
First place - Most Artistic
New Year’s, and

tried to combine it and think
of a simple idea,” she said.
Pang wasn’t the only one to
research ideas for her card. “I
drew a cow and in the background there’s a mess of Japanese related objects,” said
Gaul of his nengajoo. “I just
looked at Google images and
just, whatever I could find I
put on (the card).” For Oshiro, who drew an ox standing
on water and surrounded by
mountain scenery, “It was
just … sporadic.”
The winning students
walked away from the contest with a greater sense of
knowledge of Japanese customs. For Oshiro, the nengajoo is something “my family normally sends out every
year anyway to family, relatives in Japan and Okinawa,
so it’s just something that we
normally do.”
But it’s a different case
with Pang and Gaul. “We
don’t really celebrate Japanese culture at our house,”
said Pang. “The most we do
is the mochi and bamboo. So
(doing the nengajoo) makes
me more familiar with the
culture through research.”
The nengajoo were displayed in the January issue
of the Hawaii Herald and the
winners received small prizes, including Japanese-English dictionaries.

through a strenuous monthlong audition process. Prospective members are presented with a piece of sheet
music and are then given a
month to perfect it and perform in front of a panel of
judges to be accepted into
the fold of the OBDA.
Kimata, trumpet player,
commented on his own audition process, “I decided to
audition because I thought I
was at a point in my musical
education where I was good
enough to try … I practiced
almost every day. It was like
at least an hour a day.” Unpingco stated, “I auditioned
because I love music … and
because I was curious to see
if I’d make it.”
Once the members are
selected, the audition process is over, the bands are
formed and the rehearsal
stage begins. To conclude
the year’s association of student instrumentalists, the
groups performed one last
concert, the 62nd Annual

School Wind Ensemble was
conducted by Dennis Fisher
of the University of North
Texas. Cha stated, “We spent
a lot of time working with
our conductor so that really
got us ready … The chance
to work with (Fisher) was
very humbling.”
Kimata
commented,
“… You get to interact with
other people that you don’t
usually get to see and you
learn from them and they
learn form you.” However,
Ebesu stated, “It’s probably
to help aid you along within
your musical career, to help
you get better and to ... culture you more on the different types of music.”
To be a part of the Select
Band is an opportunity not
afforded under any other
organized competition or
association. Steeped in tradition and dedication, the
OBDA is an annual moment
of success and honor for the
select few.

Every year, a talented
group of young, aspiring
musicians gathers together
from public and private
schools alike to comprise the
100 instrumentalists of the
Oahu Band Directors Association (OBDA) High School
Select Band. The honor of being a part of this association
is coveted by many band
members each year but only
a select few ever join this exalted league.
This year, a handful of
MHS students are able to
have this honor bestowed

upon them. There are two
divisions of the Select Band:
High School Select Band I
(Wind Ensemble), which includes Junior Brandon Cha
and Senior Bronson Kimata,
and High School Select Band
II (Symphonic Band), which
counts Sophomore Matthew
Ebesu, Juniors Alexandra
Unpingco and Justin Yamamoto and Senior Amber
Shaw among them. There is
also the more prestigious division of solo artists that performs during the concert.
However, before students can permit themselves to be called one of its
members, they must first go

Music Festival. The concert,
held at the Pearl City Cultural Center on Jan. 24, was
hosted by the OBDA and the
Hawaii Music Educator’s
Association. Cha, clarinet
player, remarked on their
performance, “It was very
rewarding … The performance itself was very, very
enriching and it was fun.”
In preparation for the
concert, the bands rehearsed
at different schools around
the island. Ebesu, trumpet
player, commented on the
commute, “It’s a hassle because our practice place is
in Sacred Hearts and that’s
all the way in Kaimuki and
that’s a forty minute drive.”
Despite this, he, in accordance with Cha, stated, “It’s
worth it. It’s a lot of fun.”
The directors of this
year’s bands traveled even
further than their pupils.
The High School Symphonic
Band Conductor was Paul
Arceo of the Hawaii County
Band in Hilo. While the High

CHOSEN TROJANS

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

HASMB marches for the
first year in Rose Parade

Mariano sets bar for more
NHD projects to come

By Elizabeth Spalla

e.spalla@trojantimes.org

e.spalla@trojantimes.org

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has been presented
to ten MHS band members
earlier this year; the students
were able to march in the 2009
Tournament of Roses Parade
in Pasadena, CA. as part of
the Hawaii All-State Marching Band (HASMB) “Na Koa
Ali i”. The state of Hawaii
was represented with 350
other students coming from
schools such as Moanalua
and Punahou.
The HASMB was created
so that other schools can perform in the Tournament of
Roses Parade, with Mililani,
Moanalua and Punahou as
the larger bands on the island. Mililani was the only
school to have the opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl in
2004. The HASMB helped to
meet size requirements and
give other schools the opportunity to perform in and
experience the march.
Students were able to go
with recommendation from
their director and the permission of their parents. Musicians ranging from clarinet
players to percussionists, as
well as color guard were able
to march. Band Director Der-

ek Ka apana accompanied
the students on the trip to the
Rose Bowl and marched with
them. It was also his first time
going into the parade. “… It
was very spirited, festive, it
was very enjoyable I liked it
a lot,” said Ka apana.
The band marched seven
miles with all eyes and cameras on them. With virtually
a million people watching
the performance, the nerves
didn’t stop them. Hawaii
supporters were posted on
the sidelines during their
performance. “It was a lot
of fun, it gave us more energy just to hear everyone
screaming ‘Go Hawaii!’ …
It’s so great to just be in their
presence,” stated Sophomore
Keenan Robles, French horn
player.
Adrenaline kicked in as
the parade began their seven-mile march passing by
continuous spectators. The
band, as always, gave their
all into the performance, always to the best of their ability.
Students got to see other
schools and observe their
styles and techniques of performing, all in the process of
making new friends on the
trip. “… It was interesting
to work with people from

different schools, see where
they came from …” said
Junior Jordan Tansiongco,
snare drummer.
A feeling of accomplishment was sent through the
band members when the parade was finished. Students
were able to make new friends
and interact with other members of the HASMB. Some of
the band members “learned
the value of hard work” as
Senior Melissa Nakamura,
clarinet player, explained.
Robles also explained how it
was a humbling experience,
learning to work with different marching capabilities.
“… We all just learned how
to understand each other,”
said Robles.
The
band
members
gained the lesson of performing in front of a large,
continuous audience and the
cameras. This was also a trip
to learn different techniques
of performing to better themselves in their musical talents.
Band members will be able
to bring back lessons learned
to help the MHS band for future references. This trip will
benefit their performance
skills and have them being
able to say they marched in
the Tournament of Roses.

Kalani Koa (continued from page 1)

Diana Thompson | Trojan Times

(Left to right) Seniors Shonn Rallita, Kaohu Detwiler, Kupono
Detwiler and Hideki Aoki. Not Shown: Senior Aukai Kekoa
Kalani Koa, which also includes Senior Aukai Kekoa
who attends Kamehameha
School.
Kalani Koa previously
won the school’s talent show
that ultimately allowed them
to perform in the BBTS events.
On April 5, 2008 BBTS held
its final round at the Waikiki
Shell and Kalani Koa was able
to do a live performance.
To prepare for this event
Kalani Koa has worked hard
on “scheduling around our
own activities and stuff,” said
Ka. Detwiler. The band encountered and overcame several obstacles. The most difficult aspect of the contest that

Kalani Koa faced was creating a video to submit. “We all
had different points of views
and ideas,” Rallita commented. Regardless, Kalani Koa
completed their music video
called “Somebody to Love,”
which featured scenes filmed
around Mililani.
Another obstacle that has
challenged the band is a lack
of funds and a need for new
equipment. They hope to
gain any offers of organizational sponsorship that will
enable their band to grow.
“We’ll take sponsors but we
just don’t have them,” said
Ku. Detwiler.
Although Kalani Koa

may have its challenges, the
pursuit of living their dreams
through this competition
brings the boys together to
conquer any obstacle. The
majority of the band would
like to honor one member
who has pulled through in assuring they could withstand
anything. “It’d probably had
to be our lead singer, (Kekoa)
who is not here because he
goes (to) Kamehameha. He’s
the one that got us to work
harder,” said Aoki.
The contest will take place
at the Blaisdell Arena on Feb.
28 where each of the bands
will find out who will advance
further in the competition of
the BBTS Preliminary Round.
Kalani Koa looks forward to
competing in the preliminary
rounds also known as “Band
Champs” of the BBTS contest
that will take place on March
14 at Pipeline Cafe, where the
bands will battle it out for the
final event. The final event
takes place on March 21, also
being held at Pipeline Cafe.

By Elizabeth Spalla

National History Day
(NHD) projects can be difficult, but with work and
dedicated research students
can make it to the district
or state levels. Senior SilkeAnn Mariano pushed the
limits even further; the paper she wrote for the 2008
competition is now being
considered for publication
in professional journals.
“The Banality of Radical Evil,” the extended version of Mariano’s research
paper, is being thought
over for publication in the
International Journal of
Humanities. Last year’s
theme was Conflict and
Compromise and Mariano’s paper on Hannah Arendt’s theoretical contribution to political philosophy
addressed the theme well.
Mariano’s inspiration
for her topic came from the
challenge of connecting Arendt’s views and contributions to the theme. “… Her
ideas and the various controversies that she, knowingly or not, had stirred,”
Mariano said. “I found it
to be a rich area, closely related to my philosophical

interests.”
Mariano advanced to
district competition, stopping before states. “…
The judges said it was too
philosophical … so that
was disappointing,” stated
Social Studies Teacher Amy
Perruso, Mariano’s previous teacher.
After that, Perruso suggested that Mariano submit her papers for publication with a national journal
for student history papers.
Publication in this journal
is a tremendous opportunity and very competitive. Although still being
considered for publication, Perruso feels strongly
about getting awareness
out about Mariano’s college level NHD paper.
Mariano’s paper will
also be presented at the
International Conference
on New Directions in the
Humanities being held in
China this June.

The “We are the Future”
concert marked the last day
of pre-inauguration partying, though, as the next day
was the inauguration. D.
and L. Nakao endured “especially cold” weather and
several blocks of walking
to gain admission onto the
capitol’s grounds, where
they were able to position
themselves near the capitol building. “We didn’t see
what was happening on the
capitol, but there was a jumbotron – the big screen – that
showed what was happening … We had a good view
of that,” stated L. Nakao.
“(The inauguration) was
painful,” said Stinefelt. “We
had to get up really early, at
like 5:15 a.m. … We boarded the buses to go down to
Washington D.C. … And
then we tried to find a good
place in front of the jumbotron, but there (were) a lot
of people there already,” she
stated.
“Everyone was pushing and shoving … and then
there (were) military guys
next to us and they were
doing nothing about it,” ex-

plained Watanabe. Regardless of the chaos, though,
she still found some humor
in it all. “People were booing Bush (and) in my group
there was … a strong Republican and so he went behind
the people who were booing
and screamed ‘We love you,
Bush!’… and he had a really
loud voice,” she laughed.
Despite the tumultuous
tasks involved with securing their attendance at the
inauguration, being present at the ceremony was of
extraordinary significance
for each of the students. “(I
was) very honored because
I didn’t know I would ever
be able to … see an inauguration,” said D. Nakao. “It’s
just amazing (because) …
you (can) see it on TV (and)
get inspired a little bit, but
when you’re there, it just
hits you.”
Watanabe agreed and
stated, “It was a really, really
great experience because …
it’s not something you can
experience from the television. It’s something that you
have to be there in person
(for).”

“It was an amazing experience to be there and be a
part of history,” remarked L.
Nakao. “There were so many
people around us that … it
felt like I was close to the nation … The atmosphere was
just … changing somehow.
It’s hard to explain … It felt
like a fresh air, kind of renewing.”
Stinefelt found the experience rewarding. “It was
special in that (I was) actually there, near where he was
inaugurated … and somehow it just made all that
walking, being in crowds on
a really cold day – it made
it seem really, really worthwhile,” she said.
Each of the attendees
also had celebratory plans
following the inaugural ceremony. “We went to a gala
after (the inauguration) …
We held it at the Air and
Space Museum and … that
Daughtry band (came too),”
said Stinefelt.
The Nakaos had two
post-inauguration
plans.
They first attended the
Home States’ ball, a celebration of President Obama’s

School recovers from laptop theft
By Kelli-Anne Ho

k.ho@trojantimes.org

A month after being
the victim of a break-in, the
school has quickly recovered and replaced the 28
MacBook laptops valued at
$1600 each, that were stolen
from a classroom in O-Bldg.
The burglary happened
sometime between late Friday night on Dec. 12 to early
Saturday morning on Dec.
13.
According to KHON 2
News, two classrooms were
broken into but only one of
which was burgularized.
So far, there have not been
any arrests in the case but,
“All of the laptops have recovery software that resides
in the group directory and
can’t be deleted, (so) when
the laptops access the Internet, their location is pinpointed and we can receive
that and transmit it to the
police,” said Vice Principal
James Petersen.
The main concern of the
school was not the replacement of the laptops but that
the students were robbed of
their resources. “The thieves
weren’t stealing from the
school or the state; they were
stealing from the kids,” said

Photo courtesy of Lia Nakao

(Left to right) Freshman David Nakao, Senior Lia Nakao and
Alumnus William Nakao at the Home States’ Ball, a celebration
of President Obama’s home states, Hawaii and Illinois.
history with Hawaii and Illinois, but “missed Obama by
a few minutes.”
“We (also) had tickets
for … (Obama’s) trip to the
White House (but) we didn’t
go ‘cause it was too crazy …
There was no way of getting
in,” said D. Nakao.
Watanabe’s group also
found itself unable to gain
entrance into the sidelines of
the parade. “We were going
to watch the parade, but they
blocked off the area … So
we ate at a deli instead. But

Kong and Matsumoto find success
at State Student Conference
By Noah Perales-Estoesta
n.perales-estoesta@trojantimes.org

http://www.svirtech.com.au/

Petersen in a coverage done
by KHON 2 News.
Now, a month later, the
school has immediately taken action to replace what was
stolen and has received over
a hundred MacBook Aluminums. “We have somewhere
... between 120 to 130 Mac
laptops … The resources are
centered in the digital media facility in H-Bldg, but
they can be checked out …
The most important thing is
to make sure that students
have access to their resources,” explained Petersen.
Though the stolen laptops
were mainly used for social
studies classes, the replace-

ment laptops are available
for use by the whole school.
In preparation for the future possibility of another
break-in, the school is hoping that the state will grant
permission for the installation of a “digital video
monitoring system ... We’re
expecting approval because
the idea of it isn’t to spy on
people; the idea is to protect
the safety of students and
property of the taxpayers,”
said Petersen.
Regardless of financial setbacks from the break-in, the
school has made great effort
to ensure that the education
of the students is priority.

the sad thing was (Obama)
walked past the deli and we
didn’t even know it,” she
said. The group discovered
the president’s passing their
deli by seeing it on the news
a little after the fact.
Difficulties such as these,
be them waking up at 5:15
a.m. or just barely missing
the president, were surely
rough to handle. But nonetheless, they are a part of the
memories that will define
these four students’ inaugural experience for years.

Last December, it was
reported that four students would represent
MHS at the State Student Conference, an annual event organized by
the Hawaii State Student
Council at which students
from schools around the
state gathered to discuss
education-related issues.
Each student in attendance
had the opportunity to
create and submit proposals, called “resolutions” to
Council members, and the
resolutions that gathered
enough support were submitted to the state legislature for consideration in
the future.
The resolutions of Seniors Keynon Kong and
Micah Matsumoto were
two of less than ten to
be passed at the Conference. Kong’s resolution,
the implementation of
new disciplinary actions
for Chapter 19 offenders, and Matsumoto’s, the
creation of a mandatory
drug awareness program

for students in grades six
through eight, were initially among the top three
resolutions in their respective categories, or “issue
groups.” The resolutions
were then submitted to
higher Council members,
who voted on whether or
not the resolutions would
be submitted to legislature.
Matsumoto’s resolution was merged with the
resolutions of two other
students with similar topics. “My resolution was
about a drug abuse class
and then we combined
that with a (teen) pregnancy program. So basically ... a program that’s
mandated to be open for
people to go in for help
and talk,” he said.
Kong also commented, “it was a real triumph
for us to be able to go
through so much and
have all of our hard work
be put to good use.”
Whether or not the
proposed legislation will
be put into action remains
to be seen.

With a flip in roles, MHS
has, once again, revisited the
value of Character Education,
focusing this time on educating the educators.
Last fall, groups of students from all aspects of social
networks and organizations
around the school gathered
together to educate the youth
of Mililani in the public elementary school system. These
students included a variety of
athletes from different sports,
marching band members, student government representatives and journalists.
Now the reverse has happened as the coaches, directors and advisers of these
respective groups have been
invited to attend a two-day
seminar called Pursuing Victory with Honor Sportsmanship Seminars.
“Pursuing Victory with
Honors is sort of an off-shoot
of Character Counts and it is
applying the ideals of Character Counts specifically to
sports, and not just sports,
I should say, but anything
where competition is involved,” explained Vice Principal Fred Murphy.
The seminar was hosted
by the Josephson Institute,
which created the Character

Counts program and the Six
Pillars of Character.
“(The Josephson Institute)
is sort of like an international
movement for bringing character back into our community, or bringing a community sense back into our daily
lives,” said Murphy.
It was a two-day event
from Feb. 11-12 held at the
Hawaii Okinawa Center in
Waipahu during which the
teacher-coaches and other educators were exempted from
teaching to attend and earn
their certification in Character Education under the program.
The focus of the seminars and speakers of the sessions was to emphasize and
promote the value of proper
sportsmanship and to integrate the foundation of Character Counts into their competitive events. “Sometimes
the first place trophy is too
important and so important
that sometimes people forget
about character in the process,” commented Murphy.
As the seminar’s original purpose was to focus on
athletics, much of the discussions focused on the advantages of expressing good
sportsmanship on the field or
court, projecting that such an
attitude builds self-discipline,
perseverance and leader-

ship among student athletes.
Coaches from the school who
participated in the seminar included thse from both in- season and out-of-season sports.
Athletic Director Glenn
Nitta stated, “(The coaches)
are at the grassroot level.
They’re the ones with the kids
throughout the whole season,
some throughout the whole
year and they’re the ones that
influence the student-athletes
the most. So hopefully they’ll
be able to work with them
and make sure that they understand how to behave as far
as at games and after you win
or lose.” However, this applies not only to coaches but
also to any other director or
adviser of student organizations.
“The end result is to continue to enhance the levels of
character that we see within
our schools and within our
students and to engage our
teachers and our students in
activities to make it better,”
said Murphy.
Many hope that the new
Character Education of the
coaches and teachers who
participated in the workshops will touch lives of those
around them and eventually
change the nature of competition here on the Trojan field
and ignite a generation of
character-filled students.

Building and Construction:
“The projects that we do will introduce (the students) to carpentry,
masonry, welding, window installation, door installation ...”

-Jeffrey Cadiz, Industrial Arts Teacher

Kelli-Anne Ho | Trojan Times

Being the designated painters for their Building and Construction class, Seniors Robert Liparios
and Jed Nakahara paint the roof of the boys’ football locker room during sixth period.

7
FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Conference educates on
teen pregnancy issues
By Elizabeth Spalla
e.spalla@trojantimes.org
Over the decades,
teen pregnancy has become a prominent issue
for many high school students across the country.
In an effort to help prevent and reduce the rate
of teen pregnancy here
in the islands, eductational conferences were
held at different high
schools across the state.
The conferences began on Feb. 6 and will
run through Feb. 20. Teen
Health Counselor Nancy
Frisbie is in charge of coordinating the program
for MHS.
The conferences are
open to any student,
and are not just limited
to those directly affected
by the issue.
Attending the conference allows students
to role play refusal skills
and scenarios that can
cause or prevent teen
pregnancy. Students and
conference attendees are
able to create and discuss methods for pregnancy prevention with
each other in order to
inspire ideas for plans of
action.

The Youth Summit
on Teen Pregnancy Prevention on Oahu took
place along side the
conferences. It was held
at Aiea High School on
Feb. 10 from 8:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. As a part of the
day’s agenda, students
who attended learned
about ways to prevent
early pregnancy through
methods such as simply
saying “no.” They also
learned about the risks
of becoming pregnant as
a teenager.
The
conference
helped students develop
a schoolwide movement
to prevent teen pregnancy and an understanding of the current issues
related to pregnancy at
an early age. The youth
leaders at the conference
addressed and encouraged abstinence in relationships to their peers.
Teen pregnancy is
100 percent preventable
and the conference has
the aim of teaching students how to prevent the
issue from happening
and that there are numerous ways to prevent
an unwanted pregnancy,
such as practicing abstinence.

By Kelli-Anne Ho
Preston Miyashiro

k.ho@trojantimes.org
p.miyashiro@trojantimes.org

At the end of the previous school year, students of Industrial Arts
Teacher Jeffrey Cadiz’s
Building and Construction class worked to repair
the boy’s football locker
room roof. With its recent completion, students
such as Seniors Jed Nakahara and Robert Liparios,
spent class time painting
the structure, a finishing
touch to the project.
Another task the class
began was pouring a
concrete walkway on the
side of the sanding room.
Unfortunately, the mold
preparation for the walkway was interrupted by
the recent events of the
damaged softball equipment shed, which put the
cement pouring on hold.
Currently,
all
of
Cadiz’s classes are now

Preston Miyashiro | Trojan Times

working to demolish the
ruined softball shed and rebuild a new one before the
start of the season, allowing
them a two-week construction period.
The continuation of the
cement walkway project will
resume after their completion of the shed.
The various projects that
the students have been exposed to give them great experience in different areas of
the industrial workfield.

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Leanne
Sunahara

Trojans, welcome to
the last semester of the
school year. For those
who went to Winterball, I hope you had
fun. During this quarter, there are a whole lot
of activities going on.
The first week of
February was Counselor Appreciation Week.
I hope you all thanked
your counselors for the
hard work they do. On
Feb. 7, there was Campus
Beautification. Thank
you to all the clubs and
classes that came to help
beautify the school. We
also had a Valentine’s
Day Rose Sale that happened. All the money
raised was donated to
the American Heart Association. I hope everyone who will receive a
rose tomorrow will be
happy and flattered.
Wellness Fair is on
Feb. 21 at the Town Center. There will be a variety of games that everyone can come and enjoy.
The election of the new
ASMHS council is from
Feb. 25 - 26. This year,
the elections will be held
on Edline, so please log
on and vote. Every vote
can make a difference.
The
Sophomore
class had their bid
sales for Sophomore
Banquet during the
first week of February.
Their banquet is on
March 14 and for those
who are going, I hope
you have a great time.
The Senior class
had a Cookie Corner
sale to help fundraise
for their prom. Those
who bought cookies,
thank you for all of the
support and help. For
the next few months,
all classes have something to look forward
to, whether its prom
or a function/outing.
This Saturday is a
very special day for everyone, especially couples. It’s a day where
you are able to show
how much you love
your significant other,
or maybe a friend. So,
have a wonderful Valentine’s Day Weekend
and see you all back
in school on Tuesday.

Senior seminar class offered for BOE diploma
By Noah Perales-Estoesta

n.perales-estoesta@trojantimes.org

Beginning with the class
of 2010, the Senior Project
will become a requirement
for the Board of Education
Recognition Diploma. This
year, in preparation for next,
the Project is being tested
with a pilot program on seniors from the class of 2009.
The Senior Project comprises four basic steps:
the writing of a proposal,
in which students outline
what they intend to do for
the project, the writing of
a research paper on a topic
related to their project, the
development of a product
or the execution of an action with a mentor who
specializes in the topic the
student was interested in
pursuing and the presentation of the project in its entirety to a board of judges.

“This year … we’re doing everything. It’s basically
the entire Senior Project process, but (current seniors)
are going through the (Senior Project) handbook to
ensure that the handbook
and the whole process (are)
streamlined,” said Curriculum Coordinator Lisa
Kaneko. Revisions to the
handbook are expected to be
made. “Hopefully, it’s (going to be) something that’s
pretty much set (and) it’s not
something that’s going to
be changing radically from
year to year,” said Kaneko.
Kaneko, who doubles
as an English teacher, had
previously done a miniature
version of the project with
her English 10 GT class at the
end of the 2007- 2008 school
year to experiment with
the project’s format. “The
projects were a lot smaller
… It was more the process

that I wanted (them) to go
through. So the focus was a
little different from the pilot
project because (for) the pilot project this year, the rigor
needed to be there,” she said.
The students participating in this year’s pilot program include those under the
tutelage of English Teacher
Lisa-Anne Tsuruda, who
has taken on an adviser-like
role to students completing
the project. “I volunteered
just because of the fact that I
always do a lot of huge projects with my kids anyway,”
she said. However, as Tsuruda has found, balancing the
enormity of the Senior Project with her class curriculum
which, for three periods, includes preparing for the AP
English Literature and Composition exam, is proving
challenging. “This particular project is so huge that it’s
eclipsing some of the things

I need … for my class,” she
remarked.
Consequently,
she will not be involved
with the project in the same
way next year, but will more
likely become a mentor.
Instead, the class of 2010
will have the option of taking an elective course, Senior Seminar, for help in the
completing the project. “The
development of the Seminar
class came about because we
want to support the students
who are doing the project,”
said Kaneko. “(Students) do
have a summer school option in the event that they
don’t have room in their
regular schedule because of
AP courses or different activities,” she continued. A
teacher has not yet been selected to instruct the course.
The presentations of
this year’s pilot Projects are
scheduled for March 14.

Equipment shed set to flames as school vandalism continues
By Cyrus Takahashi

c.takahashi@trojantimes.org

Elizabeth Andres | Trojan Times

O
NLINE
www.trojantimes.org

GO

ASMHS
President

NEWS

NHD
Of the many events going on around campus, one
of the most pressing for
many students and teachers alike has been National

History Day (NHD). After
a semester of hard work,
in addition to the occasional summer assignment
for those in the Advanced
Placement courses, the efforts of hundreds of social
studies students culminated in the Fourth Annual
History Day Fair, ...

On Feb. 2, the school’s
softball team suffered a loss
as their equipment shed was
severely damaged by a fire.
Though one pitching
machine was salvaged, two
were lost in addition to a
costly assortment of practice
balls, coolers, bases, bats,
helmets, catcher’s gear, a
scoreboard control and a stereo system.
Industrial Arts Teacher
Jeffrey Cadiz’s students
started to take down the
shed on Feb. 4. Cadiz’s first
three periods of IET Core
are helping out his Building
and Construction classes to
rebuild the shed.
The Athletics Department is calling on people
to give donations of materials to help rebuild it and is
currently working with Administration to get the necessary funds appropriated
for the project as they would
otherwise be responsible for
the cost.

EDITORIAL

9

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Policy misses the point of valedictorians 27 times
Trojan Times
The mission of the Trojan
Times is to publicize events,
share in the successes of
students, promote the hard
work of the faculty and capture the dedication of
organizations.

The Trojan Times is a
monthly production of
the Newswriting staff of
Mililani High School
95-1200 Meheula Pkwy.,
Mililani, HI 96789

Letter to the editor
To voice an opinion
or any concerns, feel
free to submit a letter
to L205 or to c.kuroda@
trojantimes.org.
The Trojan Times reserves the right to edit
letters as they see fit.
Please type your
letter and clearly state
your name, grade level
and period one class.

By Cyrus Takahashi

c.takahashi@trojantimes.org

“The numbers of valedictorians will only increase in the
future and unless something is
done now to curb the problem,
the school will be faced with an
even bigger number of students
deserving to be called a valedictorian.”
-Alumna and Former Trojan
Times Staff Jessica Little in
the May 24, 1996 issue
The title of valedictorian, at one point in time,
was bestowed only on a
school’s single highestranking student, the student
who would give the final
speech to the senior body.
Unfortunately, over time, it
has become more difficult to
find this single highest ranking student because there
are so many of them. Thus,
the very idea, meaning and
symbol of the valedictorian
are threatened. If a single
person cannot be chosen,
then the definition and the
title itself become invalid.
As a result of having
numerous Advanced Placement classes, the state’s DOE
decided to dilute the meaning of a once proud honor
for the sake of self-esteem.
For a while, schools have
awarded the title of valedictorian to multiple students
rather than just the one most
deserving. Our class of 2009,
for example, is expected to
have at least 28, up from last
year’s impressively gratuitous 18.
The problem
This is in no way an attack on the school’s best and
brightest, as many as there
are. Our Newswriting and
Yearbook staffs certainly
make up a decent chunk of
the valedictorians to be honored this year and next. It’s
our titles on the line too if a
change is made. Yet a change
is what we need. Over the
years, it has become much
easier to become a valedictorian ever since the policy
was changed to allow more
than one in 1985. Still, the
requirements have not been
updated very well to keep
with the times.
One possible reason
why the policy of allowing multiple valedictorians
was enacted was because it
served as a failsafe to preempt the complaints of parents. Though this succeeded
in forestalling having to deal
with hostile adults worried
about their delicate kids, a
side effect was that it also
succeeded in diminishing

the value and ideal meaning
of the term.
Which brings us to the
irony in 2003. Blair Hornstine, a high school student
in New Jersey sued her
school to be the sole valedictorian. The school planned
to change their policy and
recognize a second valedictorian because Hornstine
learned under an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
and the difficulty of her
work came under scrutiny.
She upheld the definition
and the importance of having one valedictorian but
completely lost sight of the
ideals upon which the title
was formed. Yet, it shows us
the importance the title valedictorian has when only one
student is recognized.

Why work hard?
We have completely lost
touch with the original definition of valedictorian and
find nothing debasing about
giving the title to two, three
or even 28 students. “An
example would be Little
League Baseball. Whether
you’re the star player or not,
whether you just played one
game, at the awards banquet,
everybody gets a trophy,”
said Social Studies Teacher
Ken Watanabe, who went on
to ask, “So why work hard?
Is that truly meritorious?”
Watanabe believes that the
valedictorian should be
“one outstanding individual
and the rest of us will have
to learn coping skills.”
The support
Yet Watanabe, as a social studies teacher, remains
flexible. “It’s the will of the
people. That’s what social
studies teachers believe in
… if that’s the will of the
people and that’s the way
the people go, then I’m okay
with that.” English Teacher
Lisa-Anne Tsuruda supported the idea of multiple valedictorians being honored.
“I would say [the policy] is
good in the sense that it’s
4.0, 4.01, that’s their right.”
She also later stated that the
policy “would have to be
changed at a state level or at
a national level because say
we did away with that, then
that would put our kids at
a disadvantage versus kids
from other states.”
The best of the best
But consider the Nobel
Prize. Imagine if the various
committees responsible for
selecting the laureates decided to select 28 people to win
a Nobel Prize in literature.
Yes, all 28 must have done

something great, but giving
them each the Prize makes it
worth so much less.
And in the Olympics, are
gold medals given to every
participting athlete?
The current criteria
Right now, to receive the
title of valedictorian, all that
is needed is a Grade Point
Average of 4.0 or above and
the Board of Education Recognition Diploma.

Possible confusion
However, starting with
the class of 2010, Senior Project was added as a requirement for the BOE Diploma.
Didn’t know about that?
Neither did we. But the issue is not that it has been
added as a requirement,
it’s that this information is
so ridiculously inaccessible
to the public that the hardest thing about becoming a
valedictorian is trying to figure out how to become one.
Though Industrial Arts
Teacher Tom Falenofoa supports the idea of requiring
Senior Project for valedictorian, he believes the plan
was poorly implemented. “I
do believe that Senior Project should be a component.
If not for all the degrees with
honors, then at the very least,
valedictorian. That said, I
kind of think next year’s, the
(class of) 2010, I don’t think
they’ve had enough notice
to make it mandatory.”
Fewer next year?
Fellow Industrial Arts
Teacher Jeffrey Yamaguchi
added, “It’s kind of ridiculous the number of valedictorians we have every year,
so maybe if (Senior Project)
could whittle it down and
make it a smaller number,
it’s a good thing.” Yamaguchi is part of the group that
believes “the title is meaningless already.”
One or none
Still, it’s doubtful that
this new requirement will
do much to stop the inundation of valedictorians. The
GPA requirement is still 4.0
or above even after the introduction of so many openenrollment AP classes and
their 5.0 scale. A change is
definitely needed not just in
policy but in adherence to
the definition.
As a rule, there should
only be one valedictorian.
Some private schools such
as Kamehameha Kapalama
only recognize the single senior with the highest cumulative GPA as class valedictorian except in extremely

rare cases of a tie. Other private schools such as Punahou simply don’t recognize
a class valedictorian. It’s
understandable considering
how hard it must be if any
effort was actually put into
this policy. Yes, it is much
easier to recognize them
all as valedictorians, but it
is also meaningless. Having multiple valedictorians
makes the title worth that
much less. It’s only a solution that ignores the problem.
We need a process that
recognizes a person based
on true merit and integritywhile remaining faithful to
the definition if we want the
title of valedictorian to mean
anything. “If you’re gonna
gain any accolades among
your peers, you should earn
it. You shouldn’t demand
it,” said Falenofoa.

Our solution
It’s true that every highscoring senior should be
recognized. Though it has
become undeniably easier, it
still required some amount
of work and they should be
honored. But not as valedictorians. If anything, let
them be the school’s salutatorians, the title reserved for
the school’s second-highestranked students. A school
should only have one valedictorian because by definition, there can be only one.
The first criterion is to
have a GPA of 4.0 or higher.
The second criterion is
let those that want the once
prestigious title to present
their achievements, both academic and extra-curricular,
to a judging panel consisting
of representatives of teachers, administrators, the senior class body and parents.
Let them decide on who the
single most deserving student truly is, the one who is
the embodiment of not only
academics, but of spirit. He
or she should be the one the
school can be proud to have
as a representative.
Changing times caused
by the influx of AP classes
and their 5.0 scale, offsetting
and possibly creating GPA
inflations, require a new
process to uphold the ideal
valedictorian.
Or we could travel the
Punahou route and just not
recognize a valedictorian at
all. It solves the problem of
angry complaints and debates, and we don’t have
to worry about ideals and
principles. Why should we
care about values when we
clearly don’t care about the
worth of the title?

Joel, you really bright up
my days. When I’m around
you, I feel like smiling.
-Courtney

Kyna,

I’m so overcome by my
emotions, 15 words is just
I
wanted
to
let
2,500
people
Hey
Gurl...
You’ll
always
be
not enough. =]
Jenn,
My friends and newsies,
know that I love you. Happy
one of my best friends...
I Love You!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day. :)
-Alex Unpingco Happy Valentine’s Day!
Nalani
I,
my China loving sister!
I love you as much as
-Caitlin Basilio
-Lauren Fukuyama
FBB all the way
I love Korean food.
Happy Valentine’s Day NANI!
Hunney,
Our last one in high school.
-Kell
-Caitlin
Love you lots!
I love you baby... You’re my one
Cyrus & Cameron,
& only. I’ll always be here no
Love, Erica
matter what. You can always
Wilson and Bam Bam
Andrea, Brittanie, Cahlee, Cristina
trust me. I LOVE YOU!
Brittany Martin,
I Like Shoes
and Katie,
I Like News
I would be lying if I said
-Sweetie Andrew,
I LOVE You
Thanks for being such welcoming,
you didn’t make me
fantastic, amazing and true
Why in the world you asked
completely, perfectly and
-Godzilla Jr.
friends! Happy Valentine’s
one day. Now we know,
incandescently happy.
Day! Love ya’ll!
amore mio.
Kellie Tomita,
-Nasera Alayon
-Irene W.
-Ayesha Ishihara
I was going to be original
William Gaul,
Sharmaine,
but I didn’t have the time.
So Happy Valentine’s Day!
Your laugh, your voice, your
I could walk the world forever
smile: what I think of when
But my heart would always return to you
-Buttah Biscuit
I’m not with you. Even
Passionately, you’re my sweet yellow honey
Ayesha Ishihara,
though a dream I hope
you feel this way too. Caitlin Basilio,
-Anonymous
Inverse and converse may be false, but
contrapositives are true. Using this
-Anonymous I finally found what I was
TEE baybee,
looking for just 2 chairs
logic I want to say, I
away from me. =] Be my
Montrayl Long,
(x^2+y^2-1)^3=x^2y^3
Happy Valentine’s Day! Love
valentine?
you and only you.
you girl! It’s our last year!
Roses are red
-Alex Unpingco
Violets are blue
-Anonymous
Love,
I
lost
the
game
Supergirl Erica
Makamae T.,
and so did you
Megan White,
Happy Valentine’s Day Makz!
-Ellen Man
Our first and last one together Courtney Honda,
I can’t express how beautiful
Cyrus,
in high school.
you are. I would serenade you
any day :)
I would take over the
I love your weird sense of
Love,
world and give it to you.
humor ... in accordance
Erica
-Secret Admirer
Forever and always, Babe!
with the prophecy.
Ellsey,

Alex Unpingco,

I love you Gurl... You’re
one of my best friends...
forever & ever!
-Ellie

-Steven Ilac
Bronson Sagon,

Two forks, two scoops
of ice cream, one cake.
Life’s complete with you
around.
-Caitlin Basilio

-Anonymous

Kawailehua,

Happy Valentine’s Day Bronson.
Love you lots brother!

Kawai my love, I love you
with all my heart, now
and forever.

God’s Love,
Eri

-Love,
Sweetie

Balloons, roses, chocolates: best of Valentine’s?
By Kelli-Anne Ho
k.ho@trojantimes.org

Toward the subject of
Valentine’s Day, I come with
no special stories which are
romantic enough or funny
enough to tell. Not to say
that I haven’t received roses
or balloons in the past, but
that the day itself hasn’t
been so significant as for me
to give it much thought.
I know that last year I
didn’t care for the masses
of balloons, especially the

big singing ones, because
the wind would blow and a
dozen balloons would bop
me in the face as I walked to
class. It was especially bad
when a singing balloon hit
you because the thing would
croon, loud and proud, right
in your ear. I also recall being annoyed another year by
this girl’s bouquet of flowers
because the stems were constantly jabbing my elbow
in class. I think I may have
tripped over a box of chocolates at one point too.

What never made sense
to me was how people, girls
mostly, could be so psyched
over receiving a stuffed animal of the sort that was obviously bought at the last
minute from Wal-Mart because their so-called significant guy was too lazy to be
any more creative. Or how
people seem to think that the
act of expressing your true
feelings is to proclaim them
alongside a bunch of other
people on the same day every year. What’s wrong with

the other 364 days?
Not to mention, how romantic is a naked guy with
an arrow shooting at people?
In nearly every movie, this
cupid character shoots at the
wrong people, which makes
even less sense because isn’t
he supposed to be some god
of love?
Guys
become
very
strange in the days (or on
the day itself) leading up to
Feb. 14, too. This one line
practically echoes back and
forth throughout the school:

“but I just want to show her
that I care!” Oh, sure you do.
That’s why you’re planning
to run to the store the night
before Valentine’s Day (or
the morning of), to pick up
some flowers, any kind really, because you know that as
long as you give her something, you’re set.
It’s too bad that Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday
this year. Now we won’t be
able to admire each other’s
identical gifts!

FEATURES

11

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

CURE FOR BOREDOM: POWER OUTAGE EDITION
By Diana Thompson
d.thompson@trojantimes.org

The power has just turned off in your entire neighborhood. Your pets and younger siblings are shaking, scared from the thunder and lightning; your parents are
complaining that KSSK isn’t talking about this yet; you’re not allowed to open your refrigerator for food; every time you text your friend to see what’s up, your mom goes
crazy, saying that you should be conserving your phone’s battery life. What now?
1. S’more s’mores?
There’s nothing quite
like using a candle light to
roast marshmallows on “disposable kine” chopsticks.
But let’s say you don’t have
the usual milk chocolate and
graham crackers to go with
your emergency marshmallows when the power goes
out. So what? Reinvent the
s’more by using your imagination. Use replacements for
all of your ingredients, such
as candy pieces and other
chocolate varieties instead
of plain milk chocolate, and
use bread or pretzel crackers instead of traditional
graham crackers. Maybe
you’ll discover a new favorite snack. I’ve found that the
sweet and salty taste from
using pretzel crackers along
with dark chocolate is great.

milk choco

2. Fun with no sun
There are so many games
to play alone or with family whether or not the sun’s
up. In daylight, bust out the
card deck and play games
with the family or beat the
cards at a game of solitaire.
If that doesn’t sound appealing, then go on an adventure in your own room!
Dig through every shelf,
the corners of your closet
and in every single drawer.
You’re bound to find items
that hold countless memories of previous years. And
while you’re at it, clean your
room to make your mother
happy.
If the sun’s down for the
day, then there are other fun
games to play in the dark. If
you have a pet, you can be
entertained by its amuse-

ment at the sight of a laser
pointer whizzing across the
living room or hallway, giving your pet a workout and
your family a good laugh.
You can also play hide and
seek in complete darkness.
Turn off every flashlight and
blow out every candle. See
how well you know your
own home and become the
king (or queen) of the night.
3. Make a wish!
Now that all the lights
are out, all you need is a
dark night sky for an unforgettable sight. Grab a
towel and spread it out on
your front or back yard. Lie
down and take a look at all
of the glimmering stars in
the sky. Look for constellations, make your own or just
count the shooting stars that

pass by. Trust me, they’re a
lot more common than you
thought. You just never noticed before because of all of
the lights!
4. Using the ol’ BBQ
You’ve used the microwave, filled your cup noodle
with boiling water and even
added milk to your favorite
cereal. Those are top-notch
skills you’ve got there, Emeril. But have you ever used
that Weber Grill that’s been
sitting in your back yard for
ages? Well, now’s a good
time to start! Just gather the
materials you need and try
grilling something tasty and
healthy for your entire family. You’ll be spending quality time with them while sitting around the closed fire.

5. Rest and relaxation
It’s been ages since
you’ve taken some time off
for yourself, much less gotten your full 8-10 hours of
sleep. Instead of wasting
your time sitting through
the power outage wondering what there is to do, stop
freaking out and just chill.
You can cuddle up in your
warm and fuzzy blankets,
and take a well-deserved
nap. Or you can even read
that book by your favorite author you’ve been dying to get to, but just never
had the chance to because
everything that runs on
power was distracting you.
It’s even rewarding to complete all of your handwritten homework so that when
the power comes back on,
you’re free to do anything
electricity-related you want!

Emergency Checklist

So long as you have these things at hand, you won’t be left in the dark during a
power outage. Make sure to always have the following items:

o
P
o
o
P
o
P
o
o
o
P
o
o
P
o
P
o

Candles
Lighter/Matches
Flashlights
A warm blanket
A comfy pillow
Barbecue grill
Food to grill
The night sky
A watchful eye
A blanket or towel to lie down on
A deck of cards

In Hawaii, the weather
is always warm enough for a
cold treat like frozen yogurt.
There are two popular stores
that specialize in the business
of self-serve frozen yogurt:
Menchie’s and Yogurtland,
which opened in 2007 and
2004, respectively. Undecided
about which one to go to? Use
this guide to compare and
contrast the two, as well as
balance out the pros and cons
to make the right choice.

Menchie’s
vs.

Convenience

Yogurtland:

Price

With the current economic crisis, every cent counts.
Menchie’s and Yogurtland
charge customers by weight
instead of the number of flavors or toppings they choose.
Menchie’s charges $0.43 per
ounce plus tax; Yogurtland
runs slightly cheaper at $0.39
per ounce plus tax.

Variety

Menchie’s and Yogurtland both carry sixteen flavors, occasionally rotating
in new or seasonal flavors.
What differs between the two
is the variety of toppings. Yogurtland offers 48 dry and
fresh toppings such as cereal
and fruits, as well as syrups to
complete their frozen yogurt.
Menchie’s has an astounding
63 dry and fresh toppings,
as well as hot toppings like
fudge and caramel. Menchie’s

Chinese New Year for
2009 was celebrated on Jan.
26. It may be the Year of
the Ox, but MHS is home
to students who are born
in the Years of the Horse,
Ram, Monkey, Rooster and
Dog.
Each animal of the Chinese Zodiac has its own
distinct qualities that are
said to be reflected in the
people who are born under
them. See if you match your
zodiac animal’s traits and
learn what animals you are
compatible with and those
you may start a fight with
if you’re around them for
too long.

Horse

Jan. 27, 1990 - Feb. 14, 1991
Those born in the Year of
the Horse are said to be popular. This could be because of
their abilities in communication and their desire to always
be in the limelight. They are
capable of entertaining large
crowds. They are also quick-

their children there, but a lot
of the customers are teens
and young adults, so the
store is quieter, even with the
music. Also, Yogurtland is
able to serve as a hangout for
these people, as it has tables
outside. The thing that dampens the light on Yogurtland’s
atmosphere is the noise outside from the busy streets surrounding it.

the ultimate frozen yogurt experience
also gives the option of having a waffle cone in a cup.

Taste

Taste is subjective, so it
depends what you feel like
eating. If you are craving
something sour, there are
many tart flavors available at
both places, like Lychee Tart
at Menchie’s and Pineapple
Tart at Yogurtland. For fresh,
fruity flavors, try Georgia
Peach and Kiwi Strawberry
(Menchie’s) or Mango and
Boysenberry
(Yogurtland).

witted, physically and mentally agile and open-minded.
Horses can be fickle, and hotblooded. They are also independent and not so reliant on
the others.
Horses are compatible
with those born in the Year of
the Tiger, Ram and Dog but
are incompatible with those
born under their own sign,
the Rat, Ox and Rabbit.

Ram

Feb. 15, 1991 - Feb. 3, 1992
People of the Ram are
described as being sincere, righteous, gentle and
compassionate. They are
elegant and highly accomplished in the arts. They
often have some kind of
religious faith and are very
passionate about whatever they believe in. Rams
do not worry much about
the amount of money they
make. Instead, they take
joy in the little things in a
quiet life. Rams also have
the tendency to be shy, in-

There are also dessert flavors,
like German Chocolate Cake
at Menchie’s, Pumpkin Pie at
Yogurtland and NY Cheesecake at both. Of course, for
those who want to stay on the
safe side, both stores carry vanilla and chocolate flavors.

Atmosphere

Menchie’s has a very
bright, cheerful atmosphere.
Green, pink, purple and white
are used as a color scheme
around the store, decorating
the walls and circle designs

that hang from the ceiling. It’s
also very loud inside. There is
constant music playing and
many families chatting. Because it is so crowded with
the ten round tables and most
people have only stopped by
to get some frozen yogurt as
a short break from shopping,
Menchie’s feels more like a
quick eat-and-go place.
Yogurtland also has a
crisp, fresh atmosphere, but
it is a little toned down from
Menchie’s. Yogurtland does
have many parents who take

Both Menchie’s and Yogurtland have their setbacks
when it comes to convenience.
Menchie’s is in Ward Warehouse and Yogurtland is located near UH Manoa. Luckily for fans of Yogurtland,
another store will be opening
in Pearl City soon. Parking is
also a hassle at both. Parking
at Ward Warehouse is never
easy to come about. Yogurtland has a small lot next to the
store. On the side closest to
Yogurtland there is free parking, but the spaces are limited.
Customers can also pay a fee
of five dollars for two hours.
There is also parking across
the street; people must pay
money to the parking meter
except on certain days.
So the next time you feel
a craving for something cool
and sweet, forget plain ice
cream cones and visit one of
these two stores to mix your
pick of various frozen yogurt
flavors and tasty toppings
into your own treat, exactly
the way you want it.

Bring out the animal in you
decisive, pessimistic and
over-passive.
Rams are most compatible with people born under Rabbit, Horse and Pig
and would not get along
with people of the Rat, Ox
and Dog.

Monkey

Feb. 4, 1992 - Jan. 22, 1993
In the Chinese zodiac,
the Monkey is considered
to be something of a genius, so naturally, those
born under this animal are
ultimately said to be very
clever and possess a good
amount of common sense.
They are problem solvers,
motivators and improvisers. One might imagine
Monkeys to be focused only
on academics, but they are
also lively and enjoy sports.
Because of their cleverness,
Monkeys can be egotistical
and very stubborn in their
ways.
Monkeys get along well
with people born under the

Rat and Dragon but should
avoid those born under the
Tiger, Snake and Pig.

Rooster

Jan. 23, 1993 - Feb. 9, 1994
To the Chinese, the
Rooster symbolizes fidelity
and punctuality, so naturally, people born under
the Rooster are said to possess these qualities. These
people are meticulous, organized, practical and selfassured. But they can also
be quite eccentric, as well
as bright and enthusiastic.
Roosters can sometimes be
overly enthusiastic about
something but then be
deeply disappointed if it
doesn’t work out. Roosters also have tendencies for
arrogance, selfishness and
zealousness.
Roosters are most compatible with those of the
Ox, Dragon and Snake and
least compatible with those
of their own animal, the
Rabbit and Dog.

Dog

Feb. 10, 1994 - Jan. 30, 1995
Like “man’s best friend,”
people who are born in
the Year of the Dog have a
deep sense of loyalty and
honesty. Others feel at ease
confiding in these people
because they are capable of
keeping secrets. People of
the Dog make good leaders
because they are straightforward, intelligent, practical and moralistic. However, Dogs can come off to
others as cold, judgmental
and highly stubborn. They
are also known for their
sharp tongue and tendency
to point out faults.
Dogs generally get
along best with people in
the Year of the Tiger, Rabbit
and Horse and should avoid
people of the Ox, Dragon,
Sheep and Rooster.

Compiled by Caitlin Kuroda
c.kuroda@trojantimes.org

TROJAN LIFE

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Winter concert performs at PCC
By Angelica Sewake

a.sewake@trojantimes.org

Celebrating the season
of cultural traditions, the
school’s Orchestra, Band
and Choir performed a series of holiday music for
the 2008 Annual Music Department Winter Concert.
The concert performances
focused on the hard work
and accomplishments of the
many students who were
able to come together and
share their love for this art
with the department directors, Music Teachers Bryan
Hirata, Curtis Hiyane, Derek
Ka apana and Erik Kubota.
In the spirit of the winter season, the Music Department performed several
pieces. The first group to
hit the stage was the Concert Orchestra conducted by
Hiyane and Kubota, which
played “A Christmas Medley,” arranged by Bob Cerulli. The Concert Orchestra closed their section with
pieces from “Phantom of the
Opera,” arranged by Larry
Moore.
Senior Michael Hrysyzen
commented that the Concert
Orchestra always has room
for improvement. “We practiced like every class period

Cyrus Takahashi| Trojan Times

Music Teacher Curtis Hiyane gives a brief pep talk to the first violin section before conducting the
night’s first piece, “A Christmas Medley,” arranged by Bob Cerulli.
and it was pretty hard trying
to work on specific improvements and meeting certain
standards,” said Hrysyzen.
On the other hand, Senior
Ua Tuahine Kekipi felt confident that the performance
went well, and stated, “
‘Phantom of the Opera,’ it
was easier to get into it because we kind of knew the
melody really well so it was
nice.”
The next group to enter the stage was the Concert Band conducted by Ka
apana and Kubota, which
shared their musical choices

such as “Patapan,” arranged
by Tom Wallace and their final piece “Rudolph in Wonderland,” by Paul Jennings.
The Symphonic Band,
conducted by Hirata and
Ka apana, introduced their
seasonal music with “Russian Christmas Music,” by
Alfred Reed and ended their
features with “A Christmas
Carol Festival,” arranged by
Jack Bullock.
A transition from the
sounds of music to the voice
of rhythm came from the
Music Department’s Vocal
Ensemble, conducted by

MHS Robotics team is revived
By Preston Miyashiro

p.miyashiro@trojantimes.org

For the past two years,
MHS has not had a robotics team. But with the help
of school funding, the team
was formed once again and
will be able to compete
in the 2009 First Robotics Competition (FRC) this
spring.
The competition consists of 1,684 high school
teams with about 42,100
high school students participating all over the world.
The MHS team, is advised by
Science Teacher Eric Tong,
and will be competing in the
regional competition held in
Hawaii that will have teams
from outer islands as well as
the Philippines. It will take
place at the Stan Sheriff Center from March 26-28.
MHS wasn’t able to enter the competition for the
last two years due to lack
of funds. “It cost $6000 just
for the registration fee,” said
Tong. But with the help of
Principal John Brummel,

Many
students
also
joined the team
to gain experience for their
future college
and
working
careers. “First of
all you’re dealing with metal
right, so you’re
welding
the
Preston Miyashiro | Trojan Times metal together
Senior Kathleen Tanaka (left) and Junior Mi- and I thought
chael Standiford (right) complete the frame for it would be a
the upper portion of the robot.
good skill to
know ...” said
they were able to come up Junior Dwight Matsuo, who
with the funds out of the plans to major in mechanical
school’s budget.
engineering.
A good reason for bring- At the FRC, each team’s
ing this opportunity back robot will have a trailer conto the students is the many nected to it. The objective is
scholarship opportunities to put as many balls – “moon
available. “Well, there’s 147 rocks” – into the opponent’s
places – institutions that are trailer. The competition algiving scholarships, there’s lows the students to be in a
only 30,000 students alto- real-life work atmosphere
gether applying for the $9.3 where they must consider
million dollars so it kind other people’s ideas and use
of works out that there’s a teamwork to be successful.
good chance that you’ll get
a scholarship,” said Tong.

Ka apana. The choir sang
three songs that included
“The River” by Aubrey Snyder, “Agnus Dei” by Franz
Haydn, and their personal
choice of “A Christmas Portrait” by Jerry Nowak. Ka
apana said with relief and
satisfication, “I’m pretty glad
at how everything turned
out for this performance. All
four of the directors were
a bit worried because we
chose some things that we
normally wouldn’t for this
early in the year ... ”
The second to the last
performance was the String

Ensemble directed by Hirata, that featured unique
pieces such as “Christmas
Dream,” arranged by Senior Brant Nishida and the
“Theme from Schindler’s
List,” conducted by Senior
Tadahiro Meya. Senior Lucia Mocz performed a violin
solo.
Hirata believed that all
the performances were exceptional and also appreciated the extra effort the
student conductors put in.
Hirata said, “ ... Personally
for me as a teacher I think
I appreciated the work that
the student conductors did
... I think as a teacher that’s
a highlight that I see when
a student’s work gets to be
brought to life.”
Finally, the Symphonic
Wind Ensemble, conducted
by Hiyane, closed the concert with their performance
of their last song “Sleigh
Ride” by Leroy Anderson.
The Winter Concert
closed with diverse performances shared by each
of the Music Department’s
directors and groups, who
put a lot of time and effort
to accomplish a successful
night.

Local Boy Scouts help to
renovate MHS campus
By Francis Empeno

f.empeno@trojantimes.org

Over the past month
several Boy Scouts have
been renovating and remodeling dilapidated sections of the school. The
Boy Scouts of Troop 195
have been working on
their Eagle Scout Project,
which is required if a Boy
Scout wants to be promoted to the rank of an Eagle
Scout. Two students, Senior Jason Sikorsky and
Junior Jordan Tansiangco,
have chosen to include
campus beautification in
their Eagle Projects.
The Boy Scouts took
advantage of the work
to be done on campus by
doing their Eagle Scout
Project on campus renovations.
Sikorsky chose to restore the dirtied sidewalk
near the locker rooms by
power washing them.

“There’s a lot of water that
goes in there,” said Sikorsky. “As it is, our school’s
not exactly the cleanest
school ... I figure that I ...
might as well do something to help it out and
give back.”
Sikorsky wasn’t the
only scout to include the
MHS campus in his Eagle
Scout Project. “I actually
went to (former Vice Principal) Jamie Oshiro and
asked him what projects
were available,” said Tansiangco.
Tansiangco chose to
repaint the walls of the
Agriculture building and
also put new tarp over the
greenhouse. “I figured I
could be more helpful that
way,” he said.
Through their contributions to the community and the school, the
potential Eagle Scouts are
pleased with the results of
their projects.

TROJAN LIFE

Around Campus

Faith Brown | Trojan Times

The recently added skateboard racks were a gift to the school
from the graduate class of 2006. Alumni Ryan Fukuda,
Maegan Moleechat, Kanoe Shelton and Christie Tatsuyama
and Adviser Grace Domingo assembled the project.

Mock Trial skill
challenged by
murder case
By Angelica Sewake

a.sewake@trojantimes.org

The Mock Trial team is
thus far undefeated in their
last two weeks of trials
against Campbell, Kapolei
and McKinley. MHS Mock
Trial is determined to make
it to states and is hopeful
to make it to the national
level.
The fictional murder
case has sparked the interest
of this year’s team. It details
the prosecution of a restaurant owner, who has been
accused of freezing her partner to death.
“The team plays both
defense and prosecution,”
said Social Studies Teacher
Amy Perruso, the Mock
Trial adviser. “We actually
forbid picking a side,” she
said. “We firmly, firmly forbid saying one side is any
better than the other. Simply
because in order to be good
at Mock Trial, you have to
honestly, honest to God believe that your side is right.
Whether or not the evidence
tells you your side is right,
you have to believe it because that belief is where the
passion comes from when
you argue,” said Junior Sarah Nishioka
The team finds difficulty
in only one aspect, which is
scheduling times and dates
to meet because members
are involved in other activities. “It’s really hard ... to get
all the people who do Mock
Trial because they’re all so

busy with different things
to be all in the same place at
once and at the same time,”
said Perruso.
In order for the team to
continue in its success, the
members have worked hard
to make time to dedicate
themselves to this case.
“Yeah, we have crazy
meetings like every week
and every break. We had a
lot of meetings,” stated Junior Jacob Garner.
Besides having intense
practices, the Mock Trial
team has a new secret weapon: being coached by experienced lawyers. Having
the lawyer coaches are beneficial. Commented Perruso,
“We have an attorney coach,
two attorney coaches. But
one is consistent and pretty
regular, Mr. Stephen Hioki.
He’s a former Mock Trial
coach and this is the first
time ever that we’ve had a
lawyer coach ... it’s a great
help.” Because of their positions the lawyer coaches are
able to give their opinions
on how to advance the team
in the competition.
After the competition
the team hopes to gain improvements in skill and effort. “For this year’s team,
... what I would like them to
have is a sense of responsibility to each other ... I’d like
to see at least by the end, the
sense of solidarity to, you
know, the larger purpose ...”
said Perruso.

15

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

AP Psychology brings in young
children for development study
By Diana Thompson

d.thompson@trojantimes.org

From Feb. 2-4, preschoolers and kindergarteners from the Rainbow School
and Mililani Waena Elementary School visited MHS to
be tested on Constructivist Jean Piaget’s concepts
by students in Social Studies Teacher Judy Taparra’s
AP Psychology classes. The
largest challenge faced this
year was the larger number
of students who came to be
tested.
During class time, Taparra’s students were partnered
up with a child or two in order to conduct tests based
on cognitive development,
a concept relevant to what
they were studying in class
at the time, a chapter titled
“Human
Development.”
“It’s to have you have the

textbook come to life and
you can actually see it in
front of you,” said Taparra.
The younger students were
tested on various concepts
constructed by Piaget using
a worksheet designed by
Taparra.
Taparra has done this activity with her students ever
since she began teaching
psychology. Taparra wanted
her students to find the lesson personally meaningful
so that it’s easier to remember. “… My students came
back and go, ‘Miss! I know
everything about Piaget!’
just because they saw it …,”
recalled Taparra.
However, the number
of young children present
doubled this year for most
of Taparra’s classes. Taparra
anticipated that “it’s going
to be nuts!”
However, when the event

actually took place, everything happened smoothly.
“At first I was really scared
... I thought they would be
kind of out of control, but
the girls I had were definitely really shy but ... willing to
open up to me,” said Senior
Chloe Fonacier, who worked
with two kindergartners.
In fact, the high school
students enjoyed doing a
test with real subjects. Senior
Carly Takara commented,
“It was so cute when I asked
her ‘where did the stuffed
animal go?’ and she said ‘under the blanket,’ and when I
asked her what it was doing
under the blanket, she said
“it’s taking a nap, it’s going
to sleep under the blankie!’”
Now, with this memorable experience, Taparra’s
students are well-versed in
cognitive development for
the AP exam in May.

Diana Thompson | Trojan Times

Senior Kaylie Saiki works with a kindergartner from Mililani Waena Elementary Teacher Aimee Bejerana’s class. The children were all tested on the basic concepts of cognitive development created by
Jean Piaget. Here, the kindergarten student is being tested on her ability to understand conservation.
She is pointing to what she thinks is the longer of the two 12-inch rulers.

FEBRUARY 12, 2009
Senior Announcements:
Applications
If you have not turned in
any applications yet, please
see Mrs. Hamamoto or Mrs.
Yamamoto as soon as possible. There are still opportunities available to you.
Procrastination will narrow
your options, so come in and
see one of us today.
Submit Scholarship/Award
Letters to C&CC
If you have received
a scholarship or financial
award from a school or organization, forward a copy
of it to C&CC, whether you
are accepting it or not. We

C&CC

will add the information to
our year end report, and you
will be recognized in the
graduation program.
Scholarships Posted
Check Edline or our
bulletin board for the latest scholarship listing. Any
scholarship money that you
receive means less money
out of your pocket. Follow
the instructions and watch
your deadlines!
May 1 – Reply to Colleges
May 1 is the universal
reply date to colleges. This
is not a postmarked deadline, so schools need to receive your enrollment plans

by that date. Most schools
will request for a final transcript as well, so don’t forget
to submit your transcript request.
Other Announcements:
Junior English Class Visits
Mrs. Yamamoto has
started visiting all junior
English classes. College
planning,
course
planning, college entrance tests,
resume/essay
writing,
NCAA, etc. will be covered.
Students and/or their parents are encouraged to make
an appointment with Mrs.
Yamamoto if they have any
questions or concerns.

ASVAB Testing
We will be offering
the ASVAB on Feb. 27 for
grades 10-12 only. This is an
excellent assessment tool,
even if you don’t plan to
join the military. Sign up on
the bulletin board outside of
C&CC.
Running Start
The Running Start program is a unique partnership between the DOE and
the UH system. It allows
public high school juniors
and seniors to attend college classes while earning
both high school and college
credits. Come to C&CC for
more information, or visit
www.hawaii.edu/runningstart.
SAT/ACT College Entrance
Exams
Underclassmen, especially juniors, should sign
up now for the SAT or ACT.
Sites and dates fill up quickly, so plan accordingly. Go
to collegeboard.com or actstudent.org to sign up for the appropriate test. Our school’s
CEEB code is 120-197.
National College Fair
The Fair will be held on
April 30 at the NBC Exhibition Hall. Take advantage
of this opportunity to meet
with representatives from
visiting schools. For more information, visit: http://www.
nacacnet.org/EventsTraining/
CollegeFairs/ncf/Spring/Pages/
HonoluluNCF.aspx

It’s their school. Let them show you around...
A guided campus tour given by one of our
current students is the best way to learn
more about Hawai'i Pacific University.
When you call to schedule a tour, ask to
meet with one of our friendly Admissions
Counselors as well as the Faculty from
the program of your choice.

Selecting Next Year’s High
School Program
With registration just
concluding, your head may
have been spinning with all
your different options. Do I
need a class for graduation?
Does the college I want to
attend require certain classes? Will I be a CTE program
completer upon graduation? Should I take the Senior Project class? Visit your
alpha counselor or Mrs.
Yamamoto if you have any
questions about your registration. Make your selection
wisely, because program
changes will not be allowed
once the new school year
has started. Read on for information from the College
Advisor, Inc.
Around this time of
year, underclassmen are
asked to select classes for
the next academic year. Resist the temptation to make
life easy and opt for the
most challenging program
you can handle, while still
leaving yourself time to enjoy your high school years.
Don’t overload on honors
and AP; instead build your
foundation with solid core
courses – if possible, try to
include four years each of
study in English, math, social studies, science, and foreign language.
Provide yourself with
the greatest number of college options by building
your foundation with challenging high school classes.
Choose the most rigorous
courses available at your
school if they are appropriate for you. That means to
select honors and Advanced
Placement classes if offered.
If you’ve read this far,
you’re probably wondering
why you should work so
hard. Students in honors or
AP classes tend to be more
focused on their studies, the
breadth and depth of discussion is greater and there are
more rigorous demands on
students in terms of reading
assignments, written and
oral work.
The payoff for all this
additional effort comes in
the form of enhanced academic and reasoning skills
and preparation for college.
The more challenging curriculum also yields benefits
in the form of higher test
scores.
No matter what you
choose to do in the future,
you’ll need to use these skills
for the rest of your life.

Compiled by
College and Career Counselor
Denise Yamamoto

454-4700

www.uhwo.haw

aii.edu

twitter.com/U
H
admissions@uh WestOahu
wo.hawaii.edu

M

SPORTS

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

George III finds new heart in swimming

TROJAN

of the month

The Trojan of the month
exemplifies excellence in academics as well as athletics.
By Cyrus Takahashi

c.takahashi@trojantimes.org

Despite
difficult
classes and intense practices, Sophomore Kelsey
Koyanagi has managed
to balance her academic
life with being the Varsity Cheerleading team’s
flyer all the while remaining modest.
“She’s not really one
to boast or to be happy
that she gets awards,”
said Head Coach Renesha Kierstedt of Koyanagi, who was selected by
Kierstedt as one of the
OIA Cheerleading West
All-Stars. “For the West,
I chose girls who had the
highest skill and how
they were able to overcome certain obstacles
for the team,” said Kierstedt.
Though she was
chosen as both an AllStar and as Trojan of the
Month, Koyanagi does
not let any of this get to
her head. “I don’t like
all the … spotlight,” she
said. It may be that she
does not have time to be
proud while she works
out her schedule to balance biology, geometry
and Spanish 2 with training by “making time to
study after practices.”
“That’s pretty much
my main classes,” said
Koyanagi, who is able to
relax a bit during Food
Service and English before going to one of the
difficult practices. “On a
scale of one to ten, it can
get to eightish at times,”
said Koyanagi about the
training’s intensity.
With her keen skills
as flyer, Koyanagi is
sure to continue being
a successful and modest
member of the cheerleading team.

By Faith Brown

f.brown@trojantimes.org

On Dec. 20, 2006, while
everyone was out doing
last minute Christmas
shopping, Junior James
“Trey” George III was laid
out on an operating table
undergoing open heart
surgery. George was living in Texas and had just
entered his first year of
high school when he discovered, through his failing performance on a local
swim team, that he had an
atrial septal defect of the
heart and underwent open
heart surgery to rectify it.
Two years later and
after the struggle of his recent move back to Hawaii,
George began swimming
again. After just six weeks
of training George upset
the world of swimming
when he made qualify-

ing times for the Hawaiian
Swimming Age Group Short
Course Championships of
2008 and raced on the exact
two year anniversary of his
open heart surgery, Dec. 20,
2008.
Despite his eventual success in the world of swimming, George originally
nurtured an ardent animosity toward the rigor of the
sport. “I guess the success
for me is pushing past the
first three days of getting
back into swimming. I guess
on the big level the success
would be just making it
to the state meet but, like I
said, it’s just not a huge deal
for me … It was just the fact
that I had found the will to
actually do it because I really
didn’t want to do swimming
in the beginning,” stated
George. He now admits that
he is glad that he continued
swimming in spite of his ini-

tial trepidations.
Randy Folker, the head
coach of George’s team Aloha Aquatics, also had many
forthcomings about preparing George for the state
meet because of the stringent six weeks of time left to
them. However, Folker soon
learned that the job ahead
of him would be easier than
he thought. “He got in the
water and he’s super, super
trainable and he’s able to
pick up some stroke technique and some efficiency
right away that helped him
qualify for the state meet,”
said Folker of George’s first
days of training.
George qualified for not
just one, but three different
events: the 50m freestyle,
the 100m freestyle and the
100m breaststroke. “He did
a good job. It was amazing
that he qualified for one
event and he actually ended
up qualifying for three at the
state,” Folker stated. All of
the events George competed in are considered sprint
events where performance
is judged on speed and consistency. Though George
did not place within the top
ten to qualify him to the final round, he did have a
lot of personal success. “He
was right on top of his best
times … so I was very, very
pleased,” Folker affirmed.
Though George had
physically recovered from
the ordeal of his surgery and
was otherwise unchanged,
mentally he was changed entirely as he conceived a new

Go online for more sports pictures
www.trojantimes.org

faith of determination and
hope. He commented, “I
still have problems every
day going to swimming
when the workouts get
tough.” It was through
this faith that George
found the will to continue
swimming and persevere
despite the many physical
challenges it presented
and still presents.
George relented that
he didn’t fully realize why
he continued swimming.
“I guess for me it was
just taking a step of faith
because it wasn’t logical
and it wasn’t something I
wanted to do ... It seemed
so logical that I should
just stop now and keep on
using this time to focus on
something that I love like
doing music.” However,
he is now grateful that he
did.
While George is not
yet looking toward the
Olympics in 2012, he is
still planning to compete in future state meets
with the next one being
held this July. “I don’t
know where I’m going
to go from here. I know
that I don’t hate swimming anymore, though at
times it still sucks,” commented George. Despite
all of his success in athletics George maintains that
the real success all along
has been in persevering
through his “jump start”
back into life.

Photos by Kylie Yamamoto | Trojan Times

OIA CHAMPIONS

Arianne Cablay | Trojan Times

Kylie Yamamoto | Trojan Times

Andrea Matsumura | Trojan Times

Varsity Boys Soccer team won
the Red Division OIA championship against Kapolei. The
score was 2-0.

The Varsity Boys and Girls Swimming Teams
won first place at the OIAs held at the Central
Oahu Regional Park.

Sophomore Nainoa Tompkins and fellow wrestlers placed individually in
their weight classes at the Western Division Championships.

SPORTS

19

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

Koyanagi wins first team cheer select 2008-2009
By Angelica Sewake

a.sewake@trojantimes.org

Sophomore
Kelsey
Koyanagi showed her true
Trojan spirit of brown and
gold by achieving the gold
in the 2008-2009 Cheer Select Team. Cheer Select is
an islandwide competition
where cheerleaders from all
over the state show off their
skills and talents individually in front of judges. The
competition holds the best
of the best in Cheer Select’s
First Team (also known as
the “Dream Team”), then
Second Team and lastly,
honorable mention. Koyanagi was able to obtain a spot
on the Dream Team.
On how the judges rate
the cheerleaders on whether
or not they’ll earn a spot on
First Team, Koyanagi said,
“It’s based on your skill
level as a cheerleader, your
tumbling (and) your stunting.”

Angelica Sewake | Trojan Times

(From top to bottom, left to right) Sophomores Kelsey Koyanagi,
Christina Otte and Freshman Chantasia Tote-Bod. Koyanagi’s
skill as a flyer let her win a position on the Cheer Select Team.
The honor of being one
of the best in the state wasn’t
simply handed to Koyanagi,
but grasped through her
persistence and dedication.
During the season, Koyangai spent time committing
herself to her stunt group,

Students participate in Aloha Run
By Kelli-Anne Ho
k.ho@trojantimes.org

Among the tens of
thousands of people participating, many Mililani
students will also be running with the crowd in the
25th Annual Great Aloha
Run. The popular 8.15mile race will be held, as
always, on President’s
Day, Feb. 16.
Beginning at Aloha
Tower and ending at Aloha Stadium, eight miles
sounds very intimidating,
but the race is open to every one of all ages.
Junior Tyler Yonemura, a third-year veteran of
the race said she has had
fun each time, and for all
first-time runners her advice is to “try your best
and finish with a smile.”
Not
surprisingly,
many Cross Country
runners have decided
to participate, including
Yonemura, who said she
is looking forward to the
race because “I’m excited
to run eight miles. It’s a
good way to get active.”
Sophomore
Kelsey
Painter, another Cross
Country runner, is also
participating in the Aloha
Run for her third year but
said she is not nervous
about the distance. “I have
run many races before and

I know what is expected
… (but) I am running this
race because our coach
encourages us to do it as
part of our training.”
Participating in the
marathon is not the only
affair available to students. A couple of days
prior to the race, the Great
Aloha Run High School
Challenge will also be
happening on Feb. 14 at
the Neal Blaisdell Center
Exhibition Hall. Each of
the twenty schools entered will compete with a
team of about thirty students. Team members will
complete a variety of relays such as three-legged
races, jump rope games
and obstacle courses.
But for people outside
of high school, the Aloha
Run draws in participants
from all over the state and
even the rest of the world.
The Great Aloha Run has
raised millions of dollars, which goes towards
various organizations and
community groups. The
race is not only centered
on running, but also reflects the island’s Aloha
spirit through its Hawaiian name “Ke kukini me
ka aloa pau ole,” meaning
the race with compassionate love, according to the
marathon’s website, http://
www.greataloharun.com/.

which involved her performing gymnastic events with
the aid of four or five of her
team members. Koyanagi
did not focus on the the specific skills of cheering, but
instead focused on her own
personal goal which was, “...

doing my best.”
The event of Cheer Select
took place during the end
of the cheerleading season,
which made it convenient
for Koyanagi to really step
it up. Koyanagi stated her
benefits in entering in the
competition, “I guess I’ve
been cheering for a long time
so that helped too.” She also
credited Head Coach Renesha Kierstedt for helping
her with her achievements.
Kierstedt commented that
Koyanagi was successful not
only in skill but personality.
“Not only in cheerleading,
tumbling and stunting so
forth, but also her personality, the attitude and sportsmanship ... ,” said Kierstedt.
Koyanagi not only wanted to make it on First Team
but participated in this event
for her own personal gain. “I
just wanted to cheer in college and I thought doing this
would help,” she shared.
Kierstedt, knowing Koyan-

agi’s dream to cheer in college, has hoped experiences
such as this would inspire
Koyanagi to understand her
capabilities. “I always want
her to gain the knowledge
of what she can do. I know
she wants to cheer in college, so I’m trying to expose
her to the different areas of
cheerleading whether it’s individual, team (or) co-ed. I
want to give her that type of
environment experience so
she can prepare herself for
college,” she said.
Overall, Koyanagi has a
positive outlook on future
competitions and events that
will better herself. She stated, “I’m going to cheer next
year and compete again in
the state Select Team Competition. I think next year
will help me to gain more
confidence.” With her drive
and ambition to excel, she
definitely has the chance to
achieve her dream of cheering in college.

The Boys Varsity Soccer
Team enjoyed a 2-1 victory
on senior night, Jan. 20, over
the Leilehua Mules, winning
their last regular season game
at home. Having already won
the OIA Red West Division,
the pressure was off, allowing
the players to have fun and
enjoy the moment.
The game began as the
sun was setting. It wasn’t until late in the first half that the
first goal came from Senior
Westin Alcover, defender. In
the second half, the Mules tied
the game with a direct free
kick. Then in the last minutes,
Senior Aaron Yokoyama, for-

ward, scored a second goal,
giving them the win.
“It’s always important
to win the game,” said Head
Coach Jeff Yamamoto, “... but
we had clinched the West Division at the last game so ...
this game we got a chance to
try some different things but
at the same time it was good
to win.” The night before, the
team defeated Kapolei in order to secure the first place
spot in the West Division.
Fans made signs for each
senior. Teammates, friends
and family gathered to congratulate each one, where all
the attention went straight to
the seniors.
Each player cherished the
moment, giving them a chance

to look back on the season and
think about what being part
of the team means to them.
Knowing that soon they will
be leaving made them realize that they will miss playing
in the high school season. “It
sucks because it’s fun playing with all these guys,” said
Senior Jonathan Fukumoto,
forward. They’ve had a lot of
time to make memories since
the preseason started in November. Now in the postseason, the team is extending their
season as long as possible.
After the regular season,
the Trojans rushed the OIA
playoffs as the west’s number
one seed. This allowed them
to automatically advance to
the quarterfinals where they
faced Leilehua, beating them
1-0. In the semi-finals, they
took down the Kaiser Cougars, winning 4-2. Finally,
in the championship match,
they defeated Kapolei 2-0,
crowning them the 2009 OIA
Red Division Champions.
“I think we always expect
to do well,” said Yamamoto.
After senior night the main
focus was on winning the OIA
championship, but the team’s
current goal is to win in the
Hawaii High School Athletic
Association (HHSAA) Tournament, which began on Feb.
11 and will end Feb. 14.

Aries
(March 21 – April 19)
Since all of the state quarters have officially been
released to the public,
you should take the time
to collect all 50! If you
haven’t already, get one
of those books that hold
the quarters collection.
It’ll help keep track of all
that pocket change. One
day that collection may be
worth more than $12.50.

_

Taurus
(April 20 – May 20)
Coming into the new year,
you feel like you need to
temporarily change up
your style. Go for something bold, like dying
your hair electric blue
with that semi-permanent
dye. Or get one of those
snazzy peel-and-stick tattoos from the quarter slot
machines. You’ll definitely make a statement for a
short time-period!
Gemini
(May 21 – June 21)
You suddenly find that
you’ve been blessed with
a green thumb. So put it to

`

use and start planting a garden! With Valentine’s Day
around the corner, it would
be wise to grow a variety of
flowers to give your special
someone a nice bouquet.
Roses would be especially
sweet. Everyone loves to be
given roses!
Cancer
(June 22 – July 22)
After watching one of those
Do-It-Yourself
channels,
you’re feeling inspired and
independent. Now you’re
building everything on your
own – bookshelves, coffee
tables, you name it. Home
Depot has you to thank
for their recent increase in
wood sales as you are now
the equivalent of Tim Taylor
on “Home Improvement.”

a

Leo
(July 23 – Aug. 22)
This month, you’re feeling
superstitious. Be careful not
to step on cracks or walk under ladders. Don’t, for any
reason, open an umbrella indoors. Watch for black cats
that cross your path. Your
cautiousness will pay off
because after all this, you’ll

b

find a four-leaf clover and
your luck will turn around!

Virgo
(Aug. 23 – Sept. 22)
The best way to spend your
weekends is to have a barbecue with your friends!
There’s nothing better than
hanging out with an open
grill and some burgers and
onions. Another year has
passed and everyone is getting older. These days of going out are becoming limited, so take advantage of the
time you have now!

c

Libra
(Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)
You should start to explore
new hobbies. Maybe making
balloon animals or spaghetti
bridges will spark your interest. Or if you’re not the
arts and crafts kind of person, maybe you’ll get into
creating websites. You could
invent the newest social network and call it MyFace.

d

Scorpio
(Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)
The new season of America’s Best Dance Crew has
struck you with a dancing

e

k.kawamoto@trojantimes.org

Because fate will
always be inevitable
fever! Perhaps someone will
ask you to join their crew
when you’re spotted breaking it down to some elevator music. It’s thanks to all
that practice you put into
Dance Dance Revolution
that you’ve come so far.

f

Sagittarius
(Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)
This month you’ll be quite
the happy homemaker because you’ve discovered
that you are like the new
Martha Stewart. From sewing pillowcases and curtains
to cooking fabulous meals
and desserts, your friends
will be receiving really nice
gifts from you this Valentine’s Day.

g

Capricorn
(Dec. 22 – Jan. 19)
This is a good month to contribute to society and do
good deeds for people. Mow
someone’s lawn, walk a dog,
do someone’s homework –
the possibilities are endless.
After all your hard work
and effort, you’ll be deemed
the unofficial Samaritan of
the Month.

Aquarius
(Jan. 20 – Feb. 18)
Spring is just around the
corner, and that means
spring cleaning! When
you see all the accumulated junk that the winter season has brought,
you’ll find yourself feeling like the equivalent of
Niecy Nash from “Clean
House.” Get rid of the old
clutter to make room for
shiny new clutter. It’s out
with the old and in with
the new!

h

Pisces
(Feb. 19 – March 20)
This month you’re feeling
quite creative. Put together a new song and make
it to the top of the charts.
Write a new book and
win a Nobel Prize. Invent
a new food dish and win
one of those Food Network contests. Your innovative ideas will come
with rewards and recognition.